Chuck Lorre says Jenna Elfman declined a new television project he proposed because he had left Scientology, years after the two helped make Dharma & Greg a hit.
He recounts the exchange in Sitcom, his memoir published Oct. 13 by Dey Street Books. The book also details roughly a decade of involvement with the church before he became one of television’s most successful comedy producers.
Elfman starred opposite Thomas Gibson in the ABC sitcom from 1997 to 2002. Lorre and Dottie Dartland co-created the series about newlyweds whose backgrounds and families had little in common.
Elfman’s representative did not respond to Page Six‘s request for comment about Lorre’s account.
He Says a Pitch for ‘Three Cinderellas’ Fell Apart
In an interview with Variety, Lorre identified the proposed series as Three Cinderellas. He recalled approaching Elfman about it a year or two after Dharma & Greg ended.
According to his memoir, Elfman told him that being a “blown Scientologist” made him a “suppressive person” and meant she could not work with him. Lorre writes that he became angry and responded with an expletive.
On its website, the Church of Scientology describes a suppressive person as someone it considers destructive toward others or opposed to its work. Its published policy says a formal designation can result in expulsion from the church.
Lorre said he had downplayed his departure when initially discussing Dharma & Greg with Elfman. He understood her worldview because he had shared it, but worried that explaining his exit would put them at odds before the show was made. He also acknowledged feeling insecure about his own past involvement.
During production, he said, he instructed the writers not to ridicule her religious beliefs. “Jenna was a delight,” he told Variety, recalling an enjoyable working relationship after difficult experiences on earlier sitcoms.
His Sea Org Commitment Lasted Two Days
Lorre writes that a saxophonist in his band introduced him to Scientology in Columbus, Ohio. He took a communication course and continued studying after moving to Los Angeles. He told the Los Angeles Times he had been broke and frightened, drawn to promises of help with his career.
Three church executives urged him to sign a billion-year Sea Org agreement, he recalls. He then handed out invitations to free personality tests in MacArthur Park. “I lasted two days,” he writes, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The Sea Org is Scientology’s religious order. The church describes its billion-year pledge as a symbolic expression of continuing religious commitment, reflecting its belief that people are immortal spiritual beings.
Lorre and his then-wife, Paula Smith, eventually decided to leave Scientology. He told Variety that announcing their decision cost them their relationships with friends who remained in the church.
Elfman Also Guest-Starred on ‘Two and a Half Men’
Elfman’s official filmography includes appearances on Lorre’s Two and a Half Men in 2004 and 2011. She played Frankie in the earlier episodes and subsequently reunited onscreen with Gibson.
Their joint appearance aired in the Season 9 premiere, “Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt,” on Sept. 19, 2011. They played a married couple viewing Charlie Harper’s house while Evelyn, played by Holland Taylor, tried to sell it, according to contemporary coverage from TV Series Finale.
Elfman also expressed interest in returning to Dharma & Greg during an April 2017 interview with Access Hollywood. She said she had contacted former colleagues about getting together again, but their other television commitments had complicated the idea.
Asked about a reunion, she recalled enjoying the original production. “I would show up on that set any day,” she said, according to TV Series Finale‘s account of the interview.